Tres Chic Birthday

I still haven't posted the last card we made at a Stamp-a-Stack earlier this month, so let me take a moment now to show you:

I had a little fun with this one... that background is the Tres Chic background stamp on Naturals Ivory cardstock. I stamped it in Versamark ink and then took my pastels and two daubers and dabbed at it using two different colors. It was fun to just play around with it and watch the words 'pop' off the card! The base card and scallop are Blue Bayou and the strip is Really Rust. The circle sentiment is from Think Happy Thoughts, but the center of it is from Baroque Motifs since I thought it looked better on this card than the "cute-sy" flower that comes in Think Happy Thoughts.

Here's another version of the same card where I just used the Blue Bayou ink instead of the Versamark/pastels.

Leave me a comment and let me know which one you like better!

I won't be posting again for a few days. My uncle passed away on Friday and I'm getting ready to leave town for the funeral. When I return, I'll show you another cool Christmas card I played around with... Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Welcome Little Caden!

Some of our dear friends just joined the "3 Boys Club" by having sweet little Caden this past weekend. I can't wait to get over there and snuggle him, so I had to hurry up and make his card! His mommy gushed at this "B" I made a while back, so I've been hanging on to it just for her.

For the card, I used Confetti White and Brocade Blue cardstock. The scallop was made with the Corner Rounder punch (guard removed) and then punched with the 1/16" circle to make it look like lace. The toy elephant is from the Year After Year stamp set - so cute! I stamped him with black StazOn and then watercolored him with my Watercolor Crayons. The name is stamped in Certainly Celery with the Classic Alphabet and then outlined in Brocade Blue with the square from Sweet Thing. The Word Window punch contains part of a phrase from Holidays & Wishes - the whole phrase reads "sweet little one", but I just inked up "sweet little". And yes, I cheated again... this card ALSO called for some soft ribbon, so I pulled out my Organdy again. I'm so sad that SU! retired it. I hope it comes back again someday. The Taffeta is beautiful too, but I needed the transparent look of the Organdy this time. I also tied a scrap of Certainly Celery Grosgrain on there too for a splash of color.

Okay - gotta run! There's a cute little baby who needs cuddling!!

Spinning Mittens??

Okay, Baby is still napping, so as promised, here is a fun card I made the other day. It's a "Spinner" card.

The mitten spins to the left and right when you tip the card like this:

My husband's first response was, "Why would a mitten spin like that? You should've used a rock or a boulder or something." MEN! They just don't get it, do they?! Anyway, here's the inside:

Since I knew I was using mittens (I don't HAVE any rock or boulder stamps!), I used the Flannel Plaid background stamp to give it a cozy feel. I kinda got it on there a little crooked, though. Many of you may be familiar with Spinner cards, so I won't go into a detailed explanation here... and if I get several requests, perhaps I could do a tutorial for the rest of you. Let me know if that interests you. In any case, the colors for this card are Mellow Moss with Always Artichoke ink, Bravo Burgundy, and Naturals Ivory. I used my blender pens and ink pad lids to color the mittens. "Verry Merry" comes from the Warm Words stamp set, and "Happy Holidays" (on the inside) comes from Flaky Friends.

For my next Spinner card, I'll use a snowflake. They spin, don't they??

Tag... I'm It.

I've been tagged by Andrea Walford over at Sunny Stampin'! Thanks, Andrea... this is a fun one!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet, current car)
Cricket Pathfinder
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream, favorite cookie)
Vanilla Sugar
3. YOUR FLY “GUY/GIRL” NAME: (first initial first name, first 3 letters last name)
M-for
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)
Sage Cat
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)
Louise St. Louis (I suppose this should be pronounced "San Lou-ey" to make it sound more soap opera-ish?)
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (first 3 letters last name, first 2 letters first name)
For-mi
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink and add” the”)
The Yellow Water (oh, come on... now that's just plain hilarious!)
8. NASCAR NAME: (first names of your grandfathers)
Dale Karl
9. STRIPPER NAME: (favorite perfume, favorite candy)
Mackie Twix
10. WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s and father’s middle names)
Lee Eugene

Wasn't that fun? Okay, now I'm supposed to tag some others. Here's a list of some of my favorite fellow bloggers:

1. Of course Marelle of thINKspot is first on my list. I'm dying to see her names!
2. Nancy Riley of iSTAMP... I know you were tagged with a different assignment recently, but this one's short and fun. I'd love to see your answers!
3. Jayne Mercer of {me}...and my thought - I know you're probably way busy with the move, but give it a shot. Might be a fun break for you!
4. Tami over at Addicted to Stampin' - I need to get you posting a little more often, friend! I love to see your stuff...

I look forward to reading your posts!

Now... back to work! Stay tuned for a fun Christmas card I made. I may get it posted today if Baby cooperates, but if not, definitely by tomorrow!

15 Joyful Years Together...

Today is my 15th wedding anniversary. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband. Our road hasn't always been easy (who's is?), but the bumps sure do make the bliss worthwhile, don't they?! I can hardly wait for Friday when he is sweeping me away for a surprise weekend! I don't know where we're going, but just as I wrote on the inside of this card, wherever he is - is home to me. This is the card I made for him:

I used a stamp set called "Summer by the Sea". It's not currently in the catalog, but it wasn't retired, either. It's on what they call the "dormant" list... meaning you can still order it if you want to and it may or may not appear in the next catalog. It's a beautiful set to watercolor, as I did here. I used Michael's favorite colors for this card -- in Stampin' Up's world, they equate to Always Artichoke (the base, stamped with the Linen background in the same color), Not Quite Navy (stamped with a swirl from "Carte Postale" using Versamark), and Bravo Burgundy. There's also Mellow Moss in there too. I usually don't use anything that's retired, but this card called for some soft (but not TOO soft!) burgundy organdy ribbon - looks darker in the photo, but it really matches nice. I also pulled out my new Library Clips (in the current mini catalog) - doesn't it look great on that tag?! The tag says, "Joy is not in things, it is in us. --Richard Wagner". And the word "happiness" is framed inside a piece of Hodgepodge Hardware.

So here's to 15 happy years... looking forward to many, many more!

Vellum Christmas

Since the birthday card we did at Saturday's Stamp-a-Stack got such great reviews (and because it's simple and because I like it, too), I decided to use the same format and make it a Christmas card! So along with the card on the previous post, here is the other one we made tonight:

And here's a closer look at what's underneath the vellum:

If you're looking for a simple, but elegant, Christmas card to make this year, this one definitely fits the bill. The best thing about it is that you take a full sheet of Whisper White cardstock and do all the random stamping on it before cutting it down to size! You get 4 cards out of that one sheet. Here's another card (second photo) that's done the same way (stamp first, then cut). With the different colors and the different stamps, it easily gets mistaken for a sheet of patterned paper, and because the vellum mutes anything you stamp, you can choose some really wild colors! So get yourself a pack of vellum and some colored cardstock (I used Purely Pomegranate here), and get crazy! I decided to tear the edge of the cardstock on this one, but it looks good straight too. The stamp set I used on this card is "Season of Joy" from the current mini catalog. Have I told you that the stamp sets in this mini catalog are die cut?? Review this post if you've forgotten. I do recommend using StazOn ink on the vellum... the Basic Black seems to look purple-ish to me. The ribbon I've used here is the double stitched River Rock.

Fun card to make... and nice to look at. What more could you ask for?!

Christmas Sneak Peek

Here's one of the cards we'll be making tomorrow night at the Christmas Stamp-a-Stack workshop:

This one is super simple, but makes a nice bold statement! The snowflakes are inked with the metallic silver Encore pad. There is only one stamp set represented here - "The Snowflake Spot", and the colors are Naturals White and Night of Navy. The torn look of the Navy makes the white look like snowy hills to me. I used the large oval for the sentiment, sponged the edges with Night of Navy ink, used some silver brads on either side, and adhered it with dimensionals. A strip of Night of Navy paper behind the sentiment finishes it off.

We'll be making 6 of this card and 6 of another Christmas card. I still have a couple seats available for this workshop... drop me a line if you'd like to join us!

PS: Notice my "Autumn Fest" is getting a more permanent workout? I've given it a rightful spot on my header now that we've officially entered Fall!

Autumn Fest - Again!

Here's another card we made at the Stamp-a-Stack this morning:

I'm really giving my "Autumn Fest" stamp set a good workout! And the best news is that it's still on sale. You can get it (and several other sets) for 30% off with a $30 order - but hurry! This offer ends September 30th!

Anyway, I also pulled out my new "Defining Alphabet" and "Define Your Life" sets. They are so much fun! The base card is More Mustard with the definition stamped in Close to Cocoa and the letters in More Mustard. Then I did the rockin' technique (again!) for the leaf... it's inked in Versamark and then rocked in More Mustard. I sponged the edge of the card with Close to Cocoa. The acorns are on Naturals Ivory and were done the same way I did them on a couple other posts (see this post and this post) so I won't describe them again here. I punched them out with the 1 1/4" square and matted them with 1 3/8" punched squares of Chocolate Chip. They are then layered on top of Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. The Thank You sentiment comes from "All Holidays" and was stamped on So Saffron (to match the middle acorn) using Close to Cocoa ink.

I have one more card to show you from the workshop this morning, but first I think I'll give you a peek at one of the Christmas cards we'll be making on Tuesday... stay tuned!

Sneak Peek!

I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at one of the cards we'll be making this Saturday morning at Stamp-a-Stack!

The base is Elegant Eggplant and the front is vellum over Whisper White. I used my trusty Color Coach to tell me what colors would work with Eggplant, and it said Pixie Pink, Pretty in Pink, Lavender Lace, and Old Olive. What a wild combination, but since I was going to put vellum over it, I thought it would be fine... and it was! Here is a peek at the brightness behind the vellum:

The stamp set is called "True Friend" and is a new one out of the current mini catalog. The Birthday sentiment comes from "Hugs & Wishes" and was stamped onto the vellum with black StazOn ink. The ribbon is Pretty in Pink grosgrain. After seeing the photo, I am wondering if it might look even better if the strip of Eggplant showing on the front was torn instead of cut straight... what do you think? I may try it and if I like it better, we'll do it that way on Saturday. Have you signed up yet?? I still have a couple seats left!!

A Criss-Cross Thank You

You've heard of "house calls", right? They are virtually non-existant anymore. But what about "school calls"?? My middle son, Morgan, had something going on with his new molar that's coming in and I thought it might need to be looked at. I called the dentist on Friday only to remember that they're closed on Fridays. I happen to have somewhat of a personal relationship with our dentist (Morgan went to preschool with her son), so I called her on her cell phone just to see if the situation could wait until Monday. Of all the wonderful things she could do (and has done) for us, this time she went above and beyond and actually dropped by Morgan's SCHOOL! She assessed the situation, removed a foreign object and then sent him back to class! Needless to say, a gorgeous thank you card was in order!

Thank you cards are my favorite kind of cards to make. To honor someone's kindness and generosity by making a homemade card, to me, is the best way to show my appreciation. For this one, I used this card by Beate Johns for inspiration.

I wanted to include a note and a gift card, so I made my insert a folder so she could pull it out and open it up to read my personal note. Here is what it looks like pulled out:

This concept is called a Criss-Cross card. It works well to showcase some patterned paper - I used "Brocade Background". The colors I paired with it are Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, and Naturals Ivory. I also used the Round Tab punch attached with Vintage brads, some ribbon from the "Fairy Tale" Ribbon Originals... oh, and LOOK! I used that swirly thing from the "Carte Postale" stamp set! Those of you who have followed my blog faithfully will remember the not-so-pretty card I made using that long ago - I am not even going to re-link to it here! Ha! But doesn't it look beautiful on this card? I am quite happy with how this turned out... very elegant and just the look I was going for. Now I'll write a nice note, tuck a gift card in there, and drop it by her office.

I love it when something turns out the way you wanted! Thanks Beate!

Maddox's Thank You Card

I just finished making Maddox's thank you cards. My inspiration was two-fold... I wanted it to match the birthday invitation I made, but the concept came directly from this lovely card by Cambria Turnbow.

And this is what it looks like when it's open:

Everything is the same as the invitation I posted earlier, so I won't repeat the recipe except for the new things: I used the 1 3/8" circle punch to make a partial circle on the card front. Then I used the "Think Happy Thoughts" and "Little Pieces" sets for the thanks so much circle, and layered it with different size circle punches and attached it all to the inside of the card through the opening. The only other element that is different is the giggle stamp which is from "Warm Words".

Well, now that the cards are all done, I guess I gotta write something in 'em. That won't be near as much fun!

Must I start decorating NOW??

If the stores are going to start selling Christmas decorations ALREADY, does that mean we should all start dragging our trees out of the attic?? Personallly, I don't let marketing dictate when I start feeling Christmas-sy... there's a whole season to enjoy and I don't want to rush it! But, I know full well how much time it can take to get Christmas cards all prepared and ready to go by early December. So on that note, please enjoy this nice Fall weather and let me help you with the cards. Here's one I made today that uses brads as ornaments again, only in a more appropriate location! (see this card if you don't know what I mean!)

This stamp set is one of the new ones in the Holiday mini catalog, called "Season of Joy". The colors I used are Ruby Red, Garden Green, and More Mustard. I inked up the Christmas tree with my markers since I wanted 3 different colors on it. The ornaments on the tree are Ruby Red brads. The lace trim was made with the corner rounder (guard removed) and then I punched the holes with the 1/16" handheld circle punch. The ribbon is More Mustard grosgrain.

Let me remind you of another way I intend to help you with your Christmas cards... I will be holding 3 Christmas Stamp-a-Stack workshops between now and December. I will have 2 new designs at each one, and you will make 6 of each design for a total of 12 cards each time (or 36 cards if you come to all 3 workshops!). All cards will be cut and ready to be stamped and assembled using my supplies (except for adhesive). The cost is $10 with a $25 minimum catalog order, or $20 without an order. The dates are listed below - all from 7-9pm. Be sure to sign up before the deadlines - I have a feeling these workshops will fill up fast!

September 25th (sign up by 9/20)
October 23rd (sign up by 10/18)
November 27th (sign up by 11/25)

Now, I must go drag some boxes out of the attic. (just kidding)

Choose Your Family!

WOW!! If you've ever thought about becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, do I have a deal for you! Along with the usual starter kit (which is fabulous all by itself), demonstrators who sign up before September 30th will ALSO receive an ENTIRE COLOR FAMILY of Classic ink pads - ABSOLUTELY FREE! You choose the family!

That's 12 ink pads - a $57.95 value!!

This is a photo of my entire family of Rich Regals. I use the heck out of my ink pads and I couldn't wait to have every single color. With this deal, you'll get a HUGE head start - not only will you get 12 of them for FREE, you also get 6 more in your Starter Kit!

Just in case you're curious, let me share with you some of the benefits of becoming a Stampin' Up! demonstrator:

• You can customize your Starter Kit to fit your needs - you choose the stamp sets you want, the ink pads, and the cardstock. This is in addition to the great tools and accessories that are included.


• The Starter Kit has $355 worth of products for only $199!


• You receive a 20% discount on everything you order.


• You receive a 30% discount on your first order over $150 within the first 45 days!


• You keep 20% instantly on anything you sell.


• You earn extra bonuses when you sell over $400 in a month - this can be through customer orders, your personal orders, or a combination of both!


• The minimum amount to remain active is $300 per quarter - your orders count toward that minimum.


• If you don't meet the minimum, then you keep everything - no obligation!

Stampin' Up! is a great company with great people and tremendous support. I joined in January of this year after using their products since the Fall of 2004. I couldn't get enough, and although my original intention was to join as a hobby demonstrator just for the personal discount, I quickly found out how much fun it is to share my love of stamping with others - and get paid to do it! I am so glad I did it - I haven't paid for my stamping supplies all year!!

What are you waiting for?! Contact me today!

Double Digit Birthday!

Today marks the tenth anniversary of me being a mother... Mason is TEN years old today! I can't believe it... but this beautiful kid who almost comes up to my chin is proof that he's growing up (although it's not necessarily any monumentous feat to grow taller than me). I stayed up late last night and made him a special birthday card and thought I'd share it with you...

A lot of stamp sets were used on this one... I started to use the "Zoofari" set but as I was coloring in the cute little rhinocerous, I decided that Mason might appreciate an "older" looking card. So I reached for my "Genuine Article" set and bumped it up a few years! I used the "Headline Alphabet" to do the TEN and embossed it using black craft ink and clear powder. The Happy Birthday is from "All Holidays", the red son word comes from "Wonderful Favorites", and I spelled out Mason using the "Rough Edges" mini alphabet. Of course I had to go with Real Red since that's his favorite color. I added Basic Black and Whisper White to make the red stand out. The base color is Kraft, roughed up with some Basic Black ink. The Spiral Punch was used on the white mat behind TEN which makes it look "school-ish" to me.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy!! Won't be long before you're driving! ugh...

Sassy Stems

I did it again... I CaSEd another master. This time it is Nancy Riley of iSTAMP. You can see her original card here. You'll have to pardon the crooked-ness of my photo... the fold for this card is on the top, so it appears crooked in the photo since it's angled back. I prefer to fold my cards like this when I want to wrap ribbon all the way around, otherwise you have to cut a tiny slit in the fold if it's on the left.

You'll see that I liked Nancy's card so much I didn't change a thing! But I did choose different colors just for fun. I used some new In Colors: Blue Bayou, Groovy Guava, and the Soft Sky Designer Prints. The ribbon is the double stitched Groovy Guava and the brads are actually "Not Quite Navy" since there aren't any In Color brads. I think they matched sufficiently well. The corners of the main image were snipped off using the Tag Corner punch - it's impossible to get them even without the punch! The vase is from the Sassy Stems set and it's stamped with StazOn so it wouldn't bleed while I watercolored it using the ink pad lids and a blender pen. The water in the vase is colored with Soft Sky, but it doesn't show up well in the photo. One thing that is always important to do when you're watercoloring is to "ground" your image with some sort of base... for instance, this one has a light gray shadow. Otherwise, your image will look like it's floating in space!
I hope you like this card, but the kuddos really go to Nancy for such beautiful inspiration!

I'm Back (again)!

I know, I know... I'm long overdue for a new posting. We had a fabulous time at my family reunion this past weekend. I can't wait to do it again in 2009! (I've already begun planning it...)

I got all the laundry done and then made a card last night. It felt so good to get back into my stamp room.

This is my first time using a "Long Note". It's a 3 1/4" wide by 6 5/8" tall So Saffron card. The other colors are Chocolate Chip, Really Rust, and Naturals Ivory with the 5/8" Wide Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon. The Naturals Ivory strip was scalloped using the corner rounder (guide removed), and I paper pierced a row underneath it. You may recognize the technique I used on the leaves - I did it on this card first. This time, I inked up the leaves two different ways. Some of them are inked in Versamark first and then the edges are rolled in So Saffron, and some of them are inked in So Saffron and rolled in More Mustard. The "Thank you" sentiment comes from the Short & Sweet stamp set and is embossed using Chocolate Chip craft ink and clear powder. The acorn was inked using markers (Close to Cocoa and Really Rust) and then rolled in Chocolate Chip. Then I colored over it with my Versamark pen and embossed it with clear powder. I just love the look it creates! But I'm not sure I'm happy with the placement of the acorn. What do you think?

The leaves and the acorn come from Autumn Fest, which is on promotion this month! During the month of September, with every $30 purchase, you can select one of the following stamp sets at 30% off!

Bitty Boos Too (page 26) Sale price: $12.57
Haunting Halloween (page 29) Sale price: $13.27
Thoroughly Thankful (page 30) Sale price: $16.07
Autumn Fest (page 108) Sale price: $16.77
Elementary Essentials (page 91) Sale price: $19.57
Stem Silhouettes (Holiday Mini page 17) Sale price: $22.37

My next Stamp-a-Stack workshop is Thursday, September 19th... sign up now and use your minimum purchase toward this great Fall Frenzy Promotion!

I'm glad to be back! Rest easy (I know I will)... I'm not "scheduled" to go on any more trips again until Thanksgiving. Happy stamping!